Several MPs from the INDIA bloc, including members of the DMK, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal, and Left parties, staged a protest in the Parliament House complex on Friday, opposing the voter roll revision exercise underway in Bihar. As part of the demonstration, they tore posters marked with the acronym ‘SIR’ (Special Intensive Revision) and discarded them into a symbolic ‘disposal bin’.
The protest was aimed at rejecting what the Opposition alleges is a deliberate attempt by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to disenfranchise large sections of voters in Bihar ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.
Holding a banner that read “SIR – Loktantra par Var” (SIR – An Assault on Democracy), the MPs marched through the Parliament complex. At the Makar Dwar steps, a dustbin was placed where one by one, opposition leaders tore posters labelled “SIR” and threw them in, symbolically rejecting the ECI’s voter list revision. Slogans like “Save Democracy” and “Stop Vote-Bandi” echoed across the Parliament precincts, as leaders gathered near the Mahatma Gandhi statue in a show of unity against the SIR initiative.
The Opposition claims that the voter roll clean-up is not routine, but a calculated attempt to suppress certain voting blocs. “They [the government] intend to deprive the poor of their voting rights and let only the elite vote. They are not abiding by the Constitution,” said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
Priyanka Gandhi also voiced her concern over the lack of transparency, saying, “There should be transparency. All political parties should have access to the data provided by the Election Commission of India, so why has it not been provided?”
On Wednesday, the ECI released data showing that 56 lakh names have been marked for deletion from the electoral rolls in Bihar. These include - 20 lakh deceased voters, 28 lakh who have permanently relocated, 7 lakh registered in multiple locations, and 1 lakh who could not be contacted. The Commission has defended the deletions as necessary for cleaning up the rolls and ensuring the integrity of the electoral process.
Previously, Rahul Gandhi issued a direct warning to the Election Commission, accusing it of aiding voter suppression. “If you think you are going to get away with it, you are mistaken. You are not going to get away with it, because we are going to come for you,” he declared. He also accused the Commission of “cheating” in a Karnataka constituency. “Today we have 100 per cent proof of the Election Commission allowing cheating in a seat in Karnataka. Thousands of new votes, aged 50 or 60 or 65, have been added. And voter deletion, people who are well above 18 has happened,” he alleged.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar rejected the Opposition’s allegations. “The Constitution of India is the mother of India's democracy,” he said, adding that the ECI would not be misled by political narratives. "This process prevents fake voting, from the names of dead voters, migrants, duplicates, or foreign nationals. The SIR is essential not only for Bihar but for the entire country," Kumar stated in defence of the exercise.
Opposition MPs have also submitted Suspension of Business notices in the Rajya Sabha, urging a formal discussion on the SIR during the ongoing Monsoon Session. They continue to demand a rollback of the revision and greater oversight over the Election Commission’s actions.
